Medway selectmen interview final TA candidate

Tuesday

Jun 3, 2014 at 12:45 AMJun 4, 2014 at 1:20 PM

By Zachary ComeauDaily News Staff

MEDWAY - The Board of Selectmen interviewed the final candidate for Town Administrator, Michael Boynton, during their meeting Monday.Boynton, currently the town administrator in Walpole, said the job has been on his radar since current Town Administrator Suzanne Kennedy announced her pending retirement, which will begin this month.Boynton, a Franklin native and current Bellingham resident, assured the board that they would not find his name associated with any other search process in other communities.He has been Walpole’s town administrator since 2001. Before that, he was the town administrator in Sutton from 1997 until 2001, and the administrator assistant in Mendon from 1995 to 1997.Selectmen seemed pleased with Boynton’s conservative approach to budget planning during his time setting a budget upwards of $70 million in Walpole, compared to Medway’s $44 million.Selectman John Foresto asked Boynton what he would do to improve communication between his position and the rest of the town."Saying I have an open-door policy would be an understatement. If there’s something a resident needs, my door is open," he said.He added that Walpole completed an overhaul of its town website to improve communication, and suggested that using smartphone technology could be useful.Selectmen Dennis Crowley and Glenn Trindade questioned Boynton about his management style and if he is more hands-on or if he takes a back seat in day-to-day operations.Boynton said he believes himself to be in the "happy medium between absolute control freak and hands-off."He added that he tries not to micromanage, but added that the town administrator should know virtually every detail of town operations.Crowley referenced Kennedy’s hiring, which came in the middle of a financial crisis when the town faced a nearly $2 million deficit in 2005. Kennedy is often credited with maneuvering the town out of the hole, and Crowley asked Boynton what role he thinks the selectmen should have in such a scenario."This is your community," Boynton said, adding that selectmen are elected to represent the residents’ needs. "It’s part of the day-to-day business."He called communication between selectmen and town departments "healthy," and holds the same open-door policy with town employees and officials that he has with residents."It’s not a dictatorship," he said. "I’m a facilitator."Trindade asked Boynton about his communication with Walpole schools.Boynton said the Walpole superintendent works in town hall, so they get along "very well," and sometimes have issues when money is tight, but said he does not run the school department."I will not suggest to the superintendent how to run the school department," he said.Zachary Comeau can be reached at 508-634-7556 and zcomeau@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZComeau_MDN.